Mexico: Politics

Background:

Mexico is a federal state composed of 32 federative entities (31 states and 1 federal district), which have autonomy over their internal regime. The president of the republic and local authorities are elected for a period of six years (31 governors for the different states and one head of government for the federal district). The Mexican Constitution expressly forbids the re-election of a president.

Federal legislative power is composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate, but states have a unicameral framework represented by the local congress (the federal district's congress is called the Legislative Assembly). Legislators serve for a period of three years, except for senators, who serve for six.

The National Supreme Court of Justice is composed of 11 ministers proposed by the president but approved by a two-thirds vote from the Senate.

Three political parties dominate Mexican politics: the center-left Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the conservative, Christian-democrat  National Action Party (PAN) and the leftist Party of Democratic Revolution (PRD). New parties have appeared in the last decade, however, inlcuding the Work Party (PT), Mexico’s Ecologist Green Party (PVEM or Green), New Alliance Party (PANAL) and Convergence.